Retail Only Dedicated monthly retail coverage
IN-STORE EVENTS, theatre and promotions are key to driving sales and footfall during the summer holidays, says this month’s Retail Advisory Board. As schools up and down the UK prepare for the six-week holidays, toy shops begin planning for a summer of fun, driving footfall and off ering the youngsters something to do with the long days. And all with the prospects of turning in a profi t. “In-store events and
theatre is really big for us over the summer,” The Entertainer’s Stuart Grant told T
oyNews. “This is the
time when we are getting kids in every single day and we get the opportunity to interact with them every single day.” This year, Grant’s summer activities range from a TV advertising partnership with Nickelodeon to making the most of the Loom craze. “There will be an activity of some kind going on every day,” he continued. “And lots of activity going on around the Looms: making stuff , taking photos of what you make and creating a bit of a community around it.”
RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD
Toy shops are also looking to a summer of sport to keep the customers at their doors. ToyHub’s Helen Gourley, explained to T
“I don’t think I’m alone oyNews: “We
will be full of energy and ready to host lots of events to drive footfall. “We are planning events
around a sporting theme in celebration of the Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow. “With the weather in Scotland the summer months can actually be a great time for board games and arts and craft kits, too.” Gourley is not the only
one keeping an eye on the weather over the holiday.
in saying that we sold out of every summer item last year during the great run of weather,” said ToyTown manager, Brian Simpson. “Our sales track relatively
well during the summer months regardless of the weather, but we can sell huge volumes of summer stock in a very short period of time if the weather is good. All of the preparation is done for this so we just have to wait and hope for a repeat of last year.” With his fi ngers crossed, Simpson admits that with more people “out and about shopping anyway,” an increase in in-store activity
isn’t high on the toy chain’s agenda this season. “We don’t necessarily
ramp up our in-store activity, but that is mainly because we do a fair amount of this throughout the year anyway.” With the emphasis on
increased awareness over the summer, online retailers are also looking at new ways to increase visits to their websites. “Over the school
holiday period, we will be using social media for various promotions and competitions to increase awareness of our website,” said Karla Mitchell, senior buyer at XBite.
“The look and feel of the
website is key to any online retailer, we always make sure we have eye catching promotions and good graphics. The main aim for us is to diff erentiate ourselves from our competitors. Customers aren’t just looking for the best price, but also ease to buy and excellent customer service.” Whether it’s online or
in-store, Mitchell agrees that consumers will all be looking for the same products this summer. “Summer is always a great
time for toys,” she said. “Key products this summer will be outdoor, construction and of course Transformers.”
ToyNews takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on toy industry issues. The current members are:
News
Opinion Data
In-store theatre will be a class act this season
This month’s Retail Advisory Board champions events at driving footfall through the long summer days By Robert Hutchins
Stuart Grant, The Entertainer
Fiona
Murray-Young, Toys R Us
www.toynews-online.biz
Linzi Walker, Argos
Brian Simpson, Toytown
Clare Barton, Sainsbury’s
Neil Mitchell, Shop Direct
Annalise Quest, Harrods
Steph Strike, Asda
Ben Redhead, Firebox
Steven Bradley, Boots
Helen Gourley, Toy Hub
Miles Penhallow, Play-Room
Karla Mitchell, XBite
July 37
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